Vice President Joe Biden gave credit on Thursday to MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough for changing the debate over gun control in American in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary.

“You have changed the debate in America - you,” Biden told Scarborough on the latter’s “Morning Joe” television program during an appearance by the vice president. “The two guys that deserve, if anything gets done, an award here, are you and Michael Bloomberg.”

Bloomberg, the New York City mayor who is a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent, has poured millions of dollars from his personal fortune into Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which has run ads supporting gun control across the country in the months since Newtown.

Scarborough, a former GOP congressman, used the opening 10 minutes of his television show a few days after Newtown to dramatically condemn the NRA and he has since repeatedly spoke in favor of various gun control measures and questioned why the Republican party hasn’t been on board. As a congressman, Scarborough had been a staunch opponent of gun control.

“I don’t know if that’s going to help me in a future Republican primary, but thank you so much,” Scarborough joked to Biden.